Since the “Starriott” merger, I’ve found myself staying with Marriott whenever possible to take advantage of my new found Marriott Platinum Elite benefits. Lounge access and breakfast is a nice perk that can really add up. And of course, upgrades are nice as well – although I find the Marriott upgrades to be a it less “guaranteed” than with SPG, although in fairness SPG was never perfect either.
I’d be in Berlin for 4 nights and so I used my Citi Prestige benefit, wherein I’d get full elite benefits and also get the 4th night reimbursed, to book into the Berlin Marriott.
Location
I chose the Marriott primarily based on the location. It’s right in the center of the historically important area (“Mitte”) meaning it would be walking distance to things like the Reichtag, the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, and much more.
Check-in
Sometimes when you pre-check-in with the Marriott app you can see upgrades in real time, often late the night before. In this case my standard room still showed a standard room as I walked in. At the desk, I turned on the usual charm – joking about the lack of an upgrade and hoping they can find me one. It often works – not always. I am basically just trying to lightheartedly remind them that it’s why I make the effort to be Platinum. In this case, they noted that they had a Suite, but they were hoping to be able to sell it and would I be happy in the standard room instead? Ha!!
Long story short, I procured the Suite 🙂 Not smooth as could be, but off I went to my corner suite – home for the next 4 nights.
The Room
My suite was great. Very spacious living area, work desk couch, bedroom, and spa bathroom with tub and shower.
The shower was perhaps my favorite part: push a button and it warms up to your exact chosen temperature. No fumbling with a knob trying to guess what’s hot enough but not TOO hot! It blinks until it reaches the correct temperature.
Click to watch the shower temperature feature in action
The only thing that was lacking was power ports by the bed. There weren’t any! Sure I could have set about unplugging things, but I shouldn’t have to. Hotels really need to have power on the bedside stands in 2018….. The other nitpick was the soft volume on the hotel phone ringers…. I slept right through two wake up calls and there’s no way to make it louder. It’s some kind of soft electronic ring rather than a RING.
Aside from that, no complaints. I mean, it was a gigantic SUITE.
The Lounge
Free flowing wine and beer, snacks in the evening (6-8:30pm I believe) consisted of cheese and meats, vegetables, and 3 hot dishes. The hot dishes were just OK but sufficient for a nice snack – or meal if really trying to bring your outside costs down!
They also had a standard Marriott-lounge breakfast which was more than fine, but the Berlin Marriott happens to be running a “summer special” right now which meant that breakfast downstairs in the grill was included for Platinums (usually 32 Euro per person).
The lobby also had a ton of comfortable seating as well as bar/food service (food until 11pm).
The Rest
There was also a “hot dog” fast food restaurant off the lobby, a gym, and an indoor pool. The pool isn’t heated nor is there a jacuzzi – so it’s for swimming 😉
Overall
The staff was always friendly and accommodating and the location was perfect. The U-Bahn and -S-Bahn stops are within a couple of blocks. I’d stay there again, though I’d also consider the Autograph Collection Hotel Am Steinplatz property in Charlottenburg. Charlottenburg is a nice upscale area with lots around, but it’s much further from all the historical things one needs to see in Berlin.
How does it look to you? Let me know here, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group.
New to all of this? My new “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available now.
Don’t forget that August 25th is your last day to get both the Marriott Visa cards and SPG Amex cards if you already have the other one – new rules on card restrictions kick in on August 26th!
